Chester O. McCorkle Papers, 1940-1967

Summary

Creators:

McCorkle, Chester O.

Abstract:

Chester O. McCorkle served in various educational and administrative roles at Cal Poly from 1932 to 1966, eventually becoming dean of the college for the Kellogg campus in Pomona. The collection contains administrative records, correspondence, reports and studies pertaining to curricula and other matters, reports from the Cal Poly Kellogg Campus to the Kellogg Foundation, records documenting the development of the Cal Poly Voorhis and Kellogg campuses, and programs for campus events.

Extent:

8.79 Linear Feet (11 boxes, 1 flat file drawer)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Chester O. McCorkle Papers, Collection no. 0096, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains subject files with administrative records; correspondence from various administrators and on various topics, including the 1961 deaths of Cal Poly football team members in a plane crash and a charity football game called the Mercy Bowl Football Classic that was held in their honor; reports and studies pertaining to curricula and other matters; reports from the Cal Poly Kellogg campus to the Kellogg Foundation; records documenting the development of the Cal Poly Voorhis and Kellogg campuses, including an amendment to the 1949 deed from the Kellogg Foundation and a master plan drawing of the Kellogg campus; and programs for commencement and other campus events.

Biographical / historical:

Chester O. McCorkle was born in 1903 in Watsonville, California and earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He began his educational career in 1927 at Red Bluff Union High School in Northern California, where he served as director of agriculture and as a critic teacher.

In 1932, McCorkle began his long tenure at Cal Poly. At the time, the college only had the lone San Luis Obispo campus. In 1938, the college added a campus in Southern California: the Voorhis Unit, which was located on the site of the former Voorhis School for Boys in San Dimas. That operated as the main Southern California campus until the Kellogg Campus opened in Pomona in 1956. McCorkle served as head of the agricultural division and later became assistant to the president of Cal Poly. McCorkle then took on the role of dean of instruction, eventually becoming administrative dean of instruction for both the San Luis Obispo and the Kellogg campuses. Finally, McCorkle became dean of the college for the Kellogg Campus in 1959 and served in that role until 1966.

During his long career, McCorkle remained very involved with agricultural education. He served as executive secretary for the Future Farmers of America, an assistant teacher trainer for the Bureau of Agricultural Education for California, and as president of the California Agricultural Teachers Association.

McCorkle's other roles included serving on the California State Colleges Committee on Criteria for Occupational Curricula in State Colleges. In 1954, he was part of a three-man team that traveled to South Korea to examine vocational education needs in that country. Several years later, he traveled to Alaska to survey agricultural education in the territory.

After his retirement, McCorkle moved to northern California with his wife, Ava. He died in 1979. McCorkle and his wife had one son, Chester O. McCorkle, Jr. who taught agricultural economics and served as dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. The younger McCorkle also was vice president of the university at the University of California, Berkeley.

Acquisition information:

The collection was transferred to the University Library from the President's Office in 2001.

Processing information:

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

The collection was processed by Rob Strauss in December 2018. The collection number was changed from UA2001.15.1 to 0096 and the collection title changed from Records from the Dean of the College to the Chester O. McCorkle Papers. In 2024, the collection was shifted by student assistant Stacy Marines under the supervision of Rob Strauss and the finding aid was updated.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

California Department of Education, Committee on Standards for Occupational or Vocational Curricula. Report of Committee on Standards for Occupational or Vocational Curricula to the Department of Education, State of California. np: Committee on Standards for Occupational or Vocational Curricula, 1950.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Athletic Department Records, Collection no. 0001, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Donald H. Pflueger Cal Poly Pomona History Papers, Collection no. 0007, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Kenneth Haun Kitch Papers, Collection no. 0085, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

McCorkle, Chester O. Report of the Kellogg-Voorhis Committee for the Coordination of Higher Education in California. Pomona, CA: California State Polytechnic College, 1959.

Student Wives' Club Poly-Annas' Records, Collection no. 0078, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center Records, Collection no. 0062, W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Separated material:

The following items have been removed from the collection and added to the Special Collections and Archives Rare Books Collection.

California State Department of Education. A Study of the Need for Additional Centers of Public Higher Education in California. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 1957.

California State Polytechnic College. Annual Report. San Luis Obispo, CA: California State Polytechnic College, 1958-1959.

California State Polytechnic College. Annual Report. San Luis Obispo, CA: California State Polytechnic College, 1959-1960.

California State Polytechnic College. Annual Report. San Luis Obispo, CA: California State Polytechnic College, 1963-1964.

California State Polytechnic College Alumni Association. Green and Gold: California State Polytechnic College Alumni Review. San Luis Obispo, CA: California State Polytechnic College Alumni Association, November 1955.

California State Polytechnic College Alumni Association. Green and Gold: California State Polytechnic College Alumni Review. San Luis Obispo, CA: California State Polytechnic College Alumni Association, July 1956.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30th, 1960. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1960.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Fiftieth Anniversary Report and Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30th, 1961. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1961.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York Quarterly. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, July 1959.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York Quarterly. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, July 1960.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York Quarterly. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, January 1961.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York Quarterly. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, July 1961.

Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie Corporation of New York Quarterly. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, April 1962.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona -- History

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], Chester O. McCorkle Papers, Collection no. 0096, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Location of this collection:

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Special Collections and Archives

3801 West Temple Ave.

Pomona, CA 91768, US

Contact:

(909) 869-3775

speccollections@cpp.edu

Website